The locals

As the draft approaches, could any of the local players from Cal or Stanford land on the 49ers? Possibly in the late rounds, but I wouldn’t expect the two top prospects, Cal’s Jahvid Best or Stanford’s Toby Gerhardt to get any 49ers love.

The 49ers don’t seem to be in the market for a change-up back or slot receiver which is what Best would do best. At last week’s draft meeting with Trent Baalke, he said the team wasn’t necessarily looking for such a player, but if someone was there with those skills and was better than any other pick at that point, they’d take him.

Best is likely to sink on the 49ers’ draft board because of his persistent injury struggles at Cal. It left the impression that he was just too fast for his body to endure Pac-10 pounding. Now turn that up to NFL pounding and what do you have? Also, what about the ramifications of his concussion last season. Will that make him more susceptible to concussions? And what about Best coming back from such an injury. He might be understandably wary of running into a NFL linebacker or defensive end. He’s only human.

Gerhardt would make more sense for the 49ers. At 230 or 235, he’s got the body to absorb the hits, but there are real questions as to where he’d fit on an NFL roster. Could he be fullback even though he didn’t do much lead blocking at Stanford? Would he accept such a role after nearly winning the Heismann as a ball carrier? Undoubtedly he’s tough, talented, smart but if he wants to be running back, does he have enough elusiveness at the next level? Also he didn’t catch the ball much on the Farm, but I suspect the former Cardinal centerfielder could make up for that.

Still a fullback/RB backup is not a top priority. Cal’s defensive end/tackle Tyson Alualu could make sense. He’s a 300-pounder who can move. In the later rounds, wide receiver Nyan Boateng could be intriguing. The 204-pounder isn’t fast, but he impressed with his pro day and at the combine with his ease in and out of routes and his ability to catch.

On the Stanford side, tackle Chris Marinelli has the stature at 6-7, 307 to handle the position. He also could be fetched in the seven round or possibly later.

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